More than 130 franchisees and suppliers attended the first Downland Conference in Wales.
Taking place at The Vale Resort, just outside of Cardiff, this year’s event kicked off on Tuesday, December 2, with a gin tour around the Hensol Castle Distillery. Franchisees and suppliers who joined the tour enjoyed a gin tasting experience whilst hearing all about the history of gin, the Hensol Estate and how gin is made.
Over the course of the next two days, franchisees were invited to attend a wide range of topical seminars and had lots of opportunities to catch up and network with suppliers.
This year’s conference agenda attracted up to 42 AMTRA CPD points for attending SQPs and CPD presentations included a focus on the Fresh Start Recover Reformulation from Nia Williams at Nettex, and an overview of Coccidiosis and Coxicert from Jonathan Moore at Chanelle.
One of the most talked about presentations was the Practical Sustainability presentation from Mark Hall at Trouw.
He shared some key statistics relating to practical sustainability in ruminants, with some startling facts and figures. Franchisees learned about how improving key performance indicators such as age to first calving, calving index and body condition scoring all leads to improved efficiency, which in turn delivers improved performance, sustainability and therefore farm profits.
An interactive session from sheep consultant Nerys Wright focused on ewe nutrition, understanding forage analyses, and shared practical guidance to help build confidence with how to body condition score and the techniques involved.
At the conference, Downland launched its new Animal Health Hub with a hands-on animal health and farm planning workshop led by Zoetis.
Sophie Smith, Downland chief executive, said: “The Animal Health Hub launch marked the culmination of three years of hard work bringing the Animal Health Handbook to life – and we’re so excited to have been able to officially launch this at conference.”
The event was also a celebration of the hard work and commitment of Downland’s partners. This year saw the return of the bi-annual Tom Jeary Award, which was awarded to Taylors Farm Supplies. Pete Taylor and Holly Lockley accepted the award on behalf of the business.
Ms Smith added: “We hope everyone enjoyed the Downland conference as much as we did and we look forward to welcoming our franchisees and suppliers to Newcastle for our 2026 conference.
